I was fitted and the fitter gave me the following measurements: 1 3/8 comb: 2 1/8 heel: 1/4 cast off at heel and 1/2″ cast at toe. I am fairly large in the shoulder and chest (I wear a 52 jacket) and the fitter said that by having cast at the toe will help seat the gun in my shoulder pocket, and will keep the toe from digging into my chest. He also recommended 3 degrees pitch. These measurements were taken with a sporting clays O/U since no one in the area fits for the SxS.

Just wondering what you think.

Thanks R.H.

Dear R.H.,

Of course I am faster than a magazine guru. They have to think about what they are going to say. I just sort of spout it out. Being wrong has never bothered me because I can always sneak back into the site and rewrite it for posterity. Hindsight is always 20/20. Heck, sometimes it is even 20/15. In a print magazine, you are stuck in the public eye until all the copies disappear from the barber shop.

A 1/4″ at heel and 1/2″ at toe is a bit more than the usual 1/8″ and 3/8″most factory guns carry, but then so is a 52 jacket. I am size 48 and prefer no cast off at all. It all depends on how you mount and shoot your gun, just as much as it depends on your size. Fitted guns are almost always cast off more at toe than at heel for the very reason that your fitter gave you. The shoulder pocket is not vertical, but slants outward.

Guys with heavy chests usually do take a bit more pitch than skinny people. Of course, pitch only counts if you mount on your torso, not on our on your arm. If you mount out there, pitch has no effect at all.

Generally, it sounds as though the numbers your guy gave you are in the ball park. Just remember that SxS guns are usually stocked higher than O/Us and that game guns are also usually stocked higher than clay target guns (except trap) because upland game birds are most often shot on the rise.

2 Responses to Fitting Dimensions

I really can’t help myself, but this subject has been a pet peeve of mine for a long time. Pardon my RANT! In your description of your fitting you haven’t included the “Length of Pull”, why? My guess is that no change was made in the LOP, therefore you are extremely lucky and the LOP on your gun was perfect, for you, or the gun doesn’t really fit you. I’m guessing that most “Stock Fitters” don’t discuss LOP because it is an “expensive” proposition to lengthen or shorten stocks. And for the sake of discussion, let’s not discuss clothing WINTER/SUMMER. Let me explain; I am 6’7″s tall and close to 295lb. Nothing normal about my size, I’m BIG! Fortunately, I can do “Fine Woodworking” and for the last 15yrs I have been fitting my various shotguns with wooden stock inserts, to increase the LOP. My guns fit me! When the little/smaller men who shoot with me pick up my gun to mount it, it is obvious the gun doesn’t fit them. So what does this suggest. Each of us is different in size, therefore “ONE SIZE FITS ALL” will not work. So the manufacturers compromise on production sizes and save cost. Most shotguns don’t fit the majority of the people shooting them. Just my opinion!!! I feel much better now, thanks for letting me vent!!!

Clyde,
I am 6’8″ and I’d like to get to 295 someday. We are outside the range of Normal. We are outside two standard deviations of Normal.

There are lots of ways to get a gun to “fit”. I can shoot a normal length production Beretta with a massive Jones Adjuster on it that raises the comb sky high. Or, I can shoot my 686 with 17″ LOP and normal sloping comb. Then again, I’m not going to be the next national champion or even the next club champion, so my expectations are inline with my ability.

Is LOP important? Yes, but not as important as the Pitch & DOC/DOH. Meaning, if it’s within a half inch of what’s perfect, you can make it work, IMHO. Then again, I’m only in A class, so WTF do I know?